Indian Cultural and Wilderness Itinerary (14 Days)

Day One
You will be met at Delhi airport and transferred directly to your hotel located in the heart of Delhi. Relax in the afternoon or do some shopping at the nearby markets. Dine at one of the hotel's restaurants.

Since the 12th century, Delhi has seen the rise and fall of seven major powers. The Chauhans took control in the 12th century and made Delhi the most important Hindu centre in northern India. When Qutab-ud-din Aibak occupied the city in 1193, he ushered in six and a half centuries of Muslim rule. The Delhi Sultanate lasted from 1206 to 1526, and was followed by the mighty Moghuls from 1526 to 1857. The basis of what is today 'Old' Delhi, including the Red Fort and the Jama Masjid, was built during the reign of the Moghul emperor Shah Jahan (1628-1658). In 1803, the British captured Delhi and installed a British administrator. When the British decided to make Delhi the capital in 1911, they built New Delhi in a grandiose imperial style.

Day Two
Today you will go on a full-day tour of the most interesting sites in Delhi, including the Delhi Fort, Gandhi's Memorial at Raj Ghat, Humayun's Tomb, Qutab Minar and the famous Jama Masjid mosque. Lunch en route at a restaurant located in one of Delhi's most picturesque shopping areas. In the evening, dine at one of Delhi's many interesting restaurants (Wildspace will provide you with options).

Day Three
Make a very early start for the trip to Agra. You will be picked up from the hotel and taken to Delhi Railway Station in time for the Shatabdi Express departure. Upon arrival in Agra, you will be met on the platform and immediately begin your guided tour of the city. Visit the Taj Mahal and the famous Red Fort. After an optional lunch at the Amarvilas hotel, continue your tour by driving out to Fatehpur Sikri. Afterwards, drive the short distance to the town of Bharatpur, stopping briefly at the World Heritage bird sanctuary nearby. You will overnight at a characterful Rajasthani mansion, or haveli, located in a small village close to the sanctuary.

Agra, in the populous state of Uttar Pradesh, used to be the Capital of India during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries under Mughal rule. It is now distinguished only by the wonderful monuments left behind as a legacy of that time. The Taj Mahal needs little introduction. This exquisite Mughal monument was constructed by the emperor Shah Jahan as a testament to his love for his wife after she died during childbirth in 1631. The Taj Mahal took over twenty years to build and twenty thousand people are said to have worked on its construction.

Days Four and Five
Today you will catch the morning train from the nearby station to Sawai Madhopur, the town nearest to Ranthambhore National Park. Upon arrival, you will be met and transferred to a luxury tented camp on the outskirts of the park. After lunch, take your first drive into Ranthambhore park. The following day you will go on two jeep safaris into the park, one in the morning, one in the evening.

Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan was among the first nine Tiger Reserves declared in 1973 at the launch of Project Tiger in India. It is one of the finest places in the world to see wild tigers. Its name is derived from the 8th century fort, which dominates the park from atop a hill in the middle of the park. Emperor Akbar fought for control of the fort in the 16th century, and by the turn of the century the Ranthambhore forests had become the private hunting reserves of the Maharajas of Jaipur. However hunting was banned in 1971, and today the ruins and the entire park are the domain of the tigers which have made the sanctuary famous.

Day Six
After breakfast, you will be met by a car and driver who will transfer you to Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. You will reach your hotel around lunchtime, and you will have the remainder of the day for relaxing or optional sightseeing or shopping.

Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, is popularly known as the 'pink city' because of the ochre-pink colour of its old buildings and city walls. Maharaja Jai Singh II (1699-1744), took advantage of declining Moghul power to move his somewhat cramped hillside fortress at nearby Amber to a new site on the plains in 1727. Today Jaipur is a city of broad avenues and remarkable architectural harmony, built on a dry lake bed surrounded by barren hills. It's an extremely colourful city and, in the evening light, it radiates a magical warm glow. The city now has 1.5 million inhabitants and has sprawled beyond its original fortified confines, but most of its attractions are compactly located in the walled 'pink city' in the north-east of the city. The most striking sight is the stunning artistry of the five-storey facade of the Hawa Mahal, or Palace of the Winds, which is part of the City Palace complex which forms the heart of the old city.

Day Seven
Today, you will be met at your hotel by a car & guide and spend the majority of the day seeing the sights of this famous city, including Amber Fort, Hawa Mahal, Jantar Mantar and the City Palace. Overnight again in Jaipur.

Day Eight
After breakfast transfer to the small town of Samode, some 40 kilometres north of Jaipur. Here you can experience life in small town Rajasthan, and the palace where you will stay is one of the most interesting properties in the state. Relax in the environs of the palace.

Samode Palace is one of India's most charming and romantic hotels. Samode Palace was transformed into one the country's premium palace hotels in 1987, and is a perfect example of Rajput-Moghul architecture. The palace is built on a small hillock and planned in a progression of courtyards of increasing height. It offers a quiet, elegant and luxurious atmosphere. Considered India's finest hotel for its consummate standards of modern hospitality, accommodation, services, cuisine and amenities, it is the flagship of the Samode Hotels.

Day Nine
Spend the morning at Samode, and after lunch transfer to the Jaipur airport in time for your short flight to Jodhpur. Upon arrival in Jodhpur, you will be met and transferred to your hotel.

On the eastern fringe of the Thar Desert, Jodhpur, dubbed "the Blue City" after the colour-wash of its old town houses, sprawls across the arid terrain, overlooked by the mighty Meherangarh fort, whose ramparts rise from a sheer-sided sandstone outcrop. It was once the centre of Marwar, the largest princely state in Rajputana, and today has a population close to 800,000. In the blue maze of the old city you'll stumble across Muslim tie-dyers, lacquer bangle and puppet makers and traditional spice markets, while Jodhpur's famed cubic roofscape, best viewed at sunset, is a photographer's paradise. In addition, the encroaching desert beyond the blue city is dotted with small settlements where you escape the congestion and pollution for a taste of rural Rajasthan.

Day Ten
In the morning, go on a half-day tour of the city. The tour will include a visit to the fort overlooking the blue city. Spend the afternoon at your leisure, shopping or relaxing.

Days Eleven to Thirteen
You will have half a day to see more of Jodhpur. In the evening, take the short flight to Udaipur. Upon arrival, take a taxi to your hotel on Lake Pichola, where you will spend the next three nights. You will have three days to explore this romantic city. On Day Twelve, you will go on a half-day guided tour of the city, and Day Thirteen will be entirely at your leisure.

Udaipur, built around the lovely Lake Pichola, has been dubbed the 'Venice of the East'. Founded in 1568 by Maharana Udai Singh, the city is a harmonious Indian blend of whitewashed buildings, marble palaces, lakeside gardens, temples and havelis (traditional mansions). It boasts an enviable artistic heritage, a proud reputation for performing arts and a relatively plentiful water supply, all of which have helped make it an oasis of civilisation and colour in the midst of drab aridity. Lake Pichola is the city's centrepiece and it contains two delightful island palaces - Jagniwas and Jagmandir. The huge City Palace towers over the lake and is bedecked with balconies, towers and cupolas. Other attractions in Udaipur include the gates to the old walled city and its lovely alleyways; the fine Indo-Aryan Jagdish Temple, dating from the mid-17th century; and the lakeside Bagore ki Haveli, once a royal guesthouse, but now a cultural centre.

Day Fourteen
You will have most of the day in Udaipur and in the afternoon you will transfer to the airport in time for your connecting flight to either Delhi or Bombay.

Inclusions

• All accommodation as mentioned above, including taxes.
• The following internal flights: Jaipur - Jodhpur; Jodhpur to Udaipur.
• Breakfasts at your hotel in Delhi; breakfasts at Samode Palace Hotel.
• All train travel in First Class Air Conditioned carriages as per the itinerary.
• A guided half-day tour of Delhi in an air-conditioned vehicle (no entrance fees have been included in order that you have the flexibility to see only those sights you have an interest in seeing).
• A guided day tour of Agra in an air-conditioned vehicle, including your train fare in Executive Class to Agra (again, no entrance fees have been included).
• A daylong guided tour of Jaipur (again, no entrance fees have been included).
• A half-day guided tour of Jodhpur (again, no entrance fees have been included).
• A half-day guided day tour of Udaipur (again, no entrance fees have been included).
• Air-conditioned vehicle transfer from Sawai Madhopur to Jaipur.
• Three game drives at Ranthambhore Park (immediately after lunch on the day of arrival, and then twice the following day).
• Air-conditioned vehicle transfer to Jaipur from Ranthambhore.
• Air-conditioned vehicle transfer to Jaipur airport from Samode Palace Hotel.

Exclusions

• Any meals not mentioned in the "Inclusions" section above.
• Lunch at Amarvilas in Agra (Wildspace will make the required reservations upon request).
• Rickshaw, bicycle or binocular hire charges at Keoladeo Ghana.
• The internal airfare from Udaipur to Delhi or Bombay.
• Tips, laundry, alcohol, mineral water, soft drinks and any items of a personal nature.